Kerala Holidays

Cochin (Kochi)

Cochin is a wonderfully cosmopolitan Indian city with a multi-cultural history.  It also has one of the country’s largest ports. The famous and photogenic Chinese Fishing Nets are built along the northern shores of Fort Cochin.

The Jewish Synagogue and its Old Quarter are also worth a visit, for their quaint shops, selling everything from wooden carvings to bedspreads, from ornate mirrors to exotic spices. Nearby is the Mattancherry Palace, which was home to the Verma kings and today is a fine museum. The Palace became known as the Dutch Palace in the early 17th century. The crest of the Dutch East India Company can still be seen in the Stuber Hall.

Cochin also features the oldest church in India: the Church of St Francis, built in 1503 by the Portuguese (it briefly housed the remains of Vasco de Gama, who died here), and is now used by the Anglican Church of South India. Fort Cochin begins around the Old Parade Ground where there is some lovely boutique hotels converted from old mansions of spice merchants. The Malabar House is the best, with a fashionable restaurant serving some of the best food in Cochin. Narrow streets radiate from here in all directions full of crumbling and interesting historic buildings.

An evening Kathakali Dance Performance will allow you to sample one of the oldest theatre forms in the world in which dancers take various roles traditionally based on themes from Hindu mythology.

Kerala Tours featuring Cochin (Kochi)